Bolivian water qualities- OH NO!!!!!

[cichlidacious]

Hello--I'm new and have a quick question....

I've had a Bolivian Ram for about a week and i tested my tap water w/aqauarium 5 strip quick dip:
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Total Hardness 0-25 very soft
Total Alkalinity (kh)ppm 0-20 Low
PH 6.5 -6.8

I've been doing frequent w/c to control my ammonia/not cycled properly
Tank tested:
Nitrate 0 -10
Nitrite .50
Total Hardness 75 soft (was 100 gh ppm) 4 days ago
Total Alkalinity 40 (was 80)
PH 6.5 -6.8 (was 7.5)
ammonia now about .75 (was 6!!!!)
The tank is catching up to my tap water ----are tap #'s ok??
Is this okay for my Bolivian and Sailfin Molly livebearer?
Thanks!

 

[blueblue]

Hi cichlidacious:

1. The water parameters are good BUT please be careful about whether there are some chemicals added in the tap water. For instance, in Hong Kong,
tap water is treated with a certain amount of chlorine, and floride is added. Chlorine is toxic to most pet-fish.

2. i am afraid you have posted in the wrong area, this area is for the
member's photos' sharing...

Hello--I'm new and have a quick question....

I've had a Bolivian Ram for about a week and i tested my tap water w/aqauarium 5 strip quick dip:
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Total Hardness 0-25 very soft
Total Alkalinity (kh)ppm 0-20 Low
PH 6.5 -6.8

I've been doing frequent w/c to control my ammonia/not cycled properly
Tank tested:
Nitrate 0 -10
Nitrite .50
Total Hardness 75 soft (was 100 gh ppm) 4 days ago
Total Alkalinity 40 (was 80)
PH 6.5 -6.8 (was 7.5)
ammonia now about .75 (was 6!!!!)
The tank is catching up to my tap water ----are tap #'s ok??
Is this okay for my Bolivian and Sailfin Molly livebearer?
Thanks!

 

[Mike Wise]

Your tap water is fine for your Bolivian Ram, but it might be too soft & acid for your molly. They all prefer more alkaline, harder, water with some salt. As long as you don't plan to breed your rams, adding a bit of salt for the molly shouldn't hurt the ram.

 

[cichlidacious]

Thanks so much for the tips!!!

I had been adding salt daily when i first set up the tank---before i got the bolivian and the PH went up to 9----so i've not been adding any and now my tank is getting close with my tap.....very acidic. I'll go ahead and add the salt-----how often?

I did a 50% change @noon today----ammonia is now between .25 -.5 / getting lower & lower (from 6-8!!!)

The fish look happy keeping each other company, but i have noticed the sailfin is swimming up and down and sideways (fast)quite a bit---she then later joins the ram for a while and pecks at gravel. I just now added a pinch of salt.

Also, each day when i do the water changes--i've been adding the 7.0 to keep the PH up & Equilibrium mineral GH buffer to harden a bit--tiny pinch in each gal.

Thank you all for such great advice!!! I do appreciate it!

OH NO!!!!!!! Power went out!!! It's been 30 mins. off so far--no air bubbles no filtration---nothing!! How long can tank be turned off?!! I can't even send this e-mail yet.......ARRRRHG!!!!!!

 

[Mike Wise]

Your molly is showing a classic case of the "shimmies". This is due to the pH being too low or not enough electrolytes (salt) in the water. Normal aquarium salt (NaCl) will not affect pH to a great degree, certainly not raise it to pH 9. Are you using marine or rift lake cichlid salt? If so, stop now! It will stress the Bolivian Ram. If you must keep these 2 species from very different environments together, I would suggest hardening your naturally soft water with a little calcium carbonate sand & adding about a tablespoon of aquarium salt (NaCL) per 10 gallons to the tank. Only replenish the salt if you physically remove water from the tank. The Bolivian Ram can handle this & the molly will greatly appreciate it.

 

[cichlidacious]

shimmies--oh no! Now the nitrite

Thanks Mike.

Oh and at the time the ph was at 9---i had a huge 3lb coral stone--i removed
it immediately after the LFS said ph was 9--and he said stop adding salt.

But it's now been a little over a week since i removed coral and the ph is about what my tap is, so the "aquarium salt" should be ok.

I will keep adding the salt---thanks. Oh and now that my ammomia has dropped between 0 -.25 my nitrite is going up---it was 3-4 this morning--i did
a 40% w/c. Should i add any more live plants? How can i reduce the nitrite?

Thanks again.

 

[Mike Wise]

I never recommend adding plants until the tank is well cycled. Adding one more factor (plants) to a new tank only makes it more complicated to find a problem if something goes wrong. The only way I know how to reduce NO2 is time. Water changes will temporarily dilute it & salt tends to retard NO2 from passing through the gills somewhat.